breaking news this thursday morning. >> getting out. overnight, the u.s. government announces plans to airlift americans from danger. >> it's because of the critical situation at the devastated nuclear plant. workers on a race against time before radiation spreads. but one expert tells abc news, it's almost too late. and good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz, in for rob nelson. >> and i'm peggy bunker. despite little radiation risk in most of japan, this morning, there's a race to leave the country. >> for the first time, the u.s. has authorized the evacuation of family members of american diplomats. charter planes are being used to fly americans away from danger. >> and the u.s. is pressuring

japan to step up its efforts to avert a nuclear meltdown. they dropped sea water on the crippled reactors today. a heroic step, since the pilots are risking their lives to complete that mission. >> and the tokyo stock market, dropping once again. it was a night of high-level phone calls over the nuclear crisis, as president obama spoke to the japanese prime minister. >> while the white house offered full support in helping japan recover, the president underscored his concern of the safety of americans. emily schmidt begins our report from washington. >> reporter: with the nuclear plant crippled on the ground, desperate efforts are coming from the air. helicopters dumping sea water into the holes of the roof of damaged reactor number three, hoping to cool it enough to prevent a nuclear meltdown. europe's energy commissioner says, there is talk of apocalypse. and i think that word is particularly well-chosen. this procedure was considered

too dangerous yesterday. the japanese said radiation levels were too high. the u.s. insisted something be done. >> we're reminded how american leadership is critical to our closest allies, even if those allies are, themselves, economically advanced and powerful. there's moments where they need our help. >> reporter: the state department is now providing aircraft to help americans leave northeast japan. and it wants to evacuate americans within 50 miles of fukushima. the japanese evacuation zone is much smaller. tokyo's airport is packed with people leaving. a 15-year-old sent by her parents to stay with family in washington. >> so, there was the earthquake. and then, there's radiation. and my parents kind of freaked out. so, they wanted me to come and go to my aunt's house. so, i'll be safe. >> reporter: japan's chief cabinet secretary says the u.s. government has taken a cautious approach. but in the evacuation zone, one man says, we are isolated. we are being left here, to die.

and a skeleton crew of a few dozen people remain working at the plant. one family member says the workers are running out of food. she says, her father has accepted his fate, like a death sentence. mike and peggy? >> unbelievable. emily schmidt, in washington this morning. thank you. let's turn, now, to abc's akiko fujita in osaka. if workers can restore electricity, that could help the cooling process. and we want to know, are they closer to doing that? >> reporter: they have been working around the clock. japanese officials hopes of easing the crisis earlier today, thursday, when they said they may be close to bringing power back to the plant. and restore the reactors' cooling system. electric power would supply the pump. and that would make it easier for workers to control the high temperatures that may have led to the partial meltdown. we've been monitoring all of the

developments here. out in osaka, we've seen, they've completed the aerial water drops. we saw helicopters earlier spraying the reactors with sea water from the air, to cool them down. now, we're hearing crews on the ground are beginning to spray the same reactors. we'll see if those efforts help to bring these things under control. >> akiko, what about the people inside that bubble? the so-called exclusion zone, within just miles of the plant? what's happening to those people? >> reporter: well, we are hearing from a lot of people who are running low on supplies in that area because relief groups are just afraid to go in. we heard from the mayor of a town about 12 miles north of the reactor. he says he's being stigmatized because people are concerned about going in. but they're running low on supplies. he says -- we've also heard from a nursing home that is inside that zone, about 130 people,

elderly people, who just cannot get out. they're just saying that they plan to stay there. but they need people to bring food their way because they are running low on supplies. >> all right. abc's akiko fujita, in osaka. thank you so much. officials say low levels of radiation from japan could reach california by tomorrow. but they say it will be well within the limits considered safe. but just to make sure, the epa is sending 40 additional radiation air monitors to pacific states and territories. officials say they want americans to see for themselves that the radioactive material from japan will, in fact, dissipa dissipate. the situation in japan is changing by the minute. we'll have a complete update, coming up later on "good morning america." in libya this morning, where four "new york times" reporters are now missing. pulitzer prize winner, anthony shadid, steven farrell, tyler hicks, and lindsay addario, went

missing on tuesday. and britain's prince william has gotten a firsthand look at the earthquake damage in christchurch, new zealand. he's on a tour, offering well-wishes to the victims of last month's quake. and will also meet australian flood victims, too. the future king called the destruction, quote, unbelievable. now, to a sure sign that spring is already in the air. first lady, michelle obama, planted her white house vegetable garden for the third-straight year. and, of course, she had lots of helping hands from two dozen fifth graders. mrs. obama is also writing a book about the garden and healthy eating. so far, the garden has produced 2,000 pounds of veggies. >> nice. it will be even nicer today for the vegetables in that garden. getting plenty of sunshine, as the temperatures rise on the east coast. looking at the rest of the nation. showers in chicago, detroit and milwaukee. light rain from seattle down to northern california. and up to a foot of mountain snow in the central and northern rockies. and about six inches in the

cascades. >> we're looking at 40s, from boise to salt lake city. phoenix, hovers near 90. albuquerque, at 76. 55, in minneapolis. 80 in dallas. new orleans, and atlanta climb up to the mid-70s. and it hits 61 degrees here in new york. that sounds pretty nice. a clash as old as cola itself. a new winner in coke versus pepsi. everybody has an opinion on this. >> everybody taking sides. and toyota eases fears for its dealers and drivers around the world. and the critical mission at the fukushima plant. what can be done to prevent a total meltdown?or

well, it's been another day of wild swings for japanese investors. the nikkei average fell nearly 1.5%, erasing some of yesterday's gains. growing uncertainty over the situation at the fukushima nuclear plant is now weighing on markets in japan and abroad. most other asian markets are down, as well this morning. looking at hong kong's hang seng, sharply lower. in london, the ftse fell 1.7% yesterday. and on wall street, the dow down 242 points, wiping out most of its gains for the year. the nasdaq fell 50 points. some good news for toyota. the automaker is restarting production at plants making replacement parts for vehicles on the road. but it is extending a shutdown at assembly plants through next tuesday. that affects about 95,000 vehicles. apple has responded to parents' complaints about their ge bills on itunes.

apple now requires that users re-enter their password when making app purchases. that should prevent kids from inadvertently buying virtual goods while playing games on iphones and ipads. food prices have been rising rapidly. it doesn't look like that will end anytime soon. wholesale prices jumped last month. the highest jump in 36 years. and you'll see those increases in grocery stores and restaurants. everything from green peppers and lettuce. and also to meat and dairy, will cost you more. when it comes to cola wars, coke is it. diet coke is now the nation's number two carbonated soft drink, behind coca-cola. numbers out today are expected to show it passed pepsi for the first time last year. >> it's got caffeine in it, i'll drink it. >> i know, right? caffeine-fueled jolt. >> we'll take it. when we come back, the suicide mission underway right now at the crippled japanese nuclear plant. plus, hillary clinton makes an announcement about her future

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the reactor cores, we will have three simultaneous breach of ngg containments. already, unit two and unit three have cracks in their containment vessels. already, unit four has a raging fire, we think, involving spent fuel that is not contained by any containment vessel. so, we are very close, now, to something that is even bigger than chernobyl. in a worst-case scenario, you have breach of containment. the containment structure springs a leak. you have an explosion. the thing cracks apart and releases large quantities of radiation into the atmosphere. that area will become a dead zone. it will be impossible to grow anything. people in that area will die. we're talking about lives at stake. and that's why i would say, if i had the ear of the prime minister, forget about using squirt guns. call in the japanese air force. hit that reactor with concrete, sand and boric acid. seal it in a sarcophagus.

entomb it just like the soviets entombed the chernobyl accident in 1986. i think we're very close to that option now. >> we'll hear more from dr. kaku later on "good morning america" this morning. secretary of state hillary clinton says she will leave her current position if president obama is re-elected. she made the comment on a visit to egypt. she has now moved on to tunisia. clinton also said she has no plans for another presidential run or interest in other high-ranking obama administration positions. top u.s. commander general david petraeus, has revealed that the war in afghanistan has hit home on a personal level. petraeus told congress that his son, steven, recently finished up a tour, serving as an infantry platoon leader. petraeus also said that combat forces might be included when the initial troop drawdown begins in july. well boxing legend and

humanitarian muhammad ali is reaching out to iran's supreme leader to release two american hikers. he sent a letter he sent to the ayatollah in february, appealing for the release of josh fattal and shane bauer. they've been held on espionage charges since july 2009. ali says he would be willing to return to iran to work on a deal, if his health allows him to do so. beginning this afternoon, the first of an estimated 8 million work hours will be wasted. peggy, i'm watching you. all watching this year's ncaa men's basketball tournament, of course. the field, now down to 64 teams. here's adnan virk at espn news. >> good morning. march madness is in full swing. it is that time for everyone to fill out their brackets and watch anxiously, as college basketball takes center stage. vcu, taking on usc. second half, vcu up by four. brandon rozzell for three. vcu up by seven. and juvonte reddic, misses the lay-in.

gets the putback and the foul. vcu up by ten. under five to play. joey rodriguez, the bounce-pass to reddic and the foul. vcu wins it, 59-46. skeen, 16 points and 9 boards. texas san antonio, taking on alabama state. they have a lot of energy. first half, utsa by five. melvin johnson. laying in transition. utsa up by seven. later, johnson pulls up. hits the three. an 18-point advantage. still in the first half, johnson would drive. and finish above the rim. utsa up by 23. and then, johnson with another three-pointer. he scored 25 of his 29 in the first half. best performance in march madness so far. by nine. to the nba. lebron james and the heat hosting the thunder. second quarter. heat down 11. dwyane wade, drives, spins and finishing with a flush. great move. worthy of another look.

the heat down by nine. third quarter, thunder up by four. kevin durant, fadeaway three. durant finished with 29 points. thunder up by seven. fourth quarter, wade driving. misses a lay-in. thinks he was fouled. thunder win, 96-85. you're up to date for now. don't forget, for all of your highlights, join us for "the highlight express" on espn news. and president obama has filled out his own bracket. the hoops fan in chief's final four is all number one seed, going chalk with the ohio state university, duke, kansas and pittsburgh. he has k.u. and the ohio state university in the final. and for the second-straight year, mr. obama has kansas winning it all, taking home the national title. >> i was with him until the last part. i think the kansas state will take it. >> you think the kansas state? that would be an upset. >> that would be big. not going with kansas. going ohio. >> we'll see how it goes. coming up next, the stories we'll be following on this st. patrick's day.

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japanese military helicopters have dumped 30 tons of sea water on the crippled nuclear reactor in a last-ditch effort to avoid a meltdown. and california and hawaii, and other states and territories on the pacific, are getting 40 air radiation monitors. this will allow the epa to gather more data and detect any radiation coming from japan. in washington today, the house votes on a plan to cut all federal funding for national public radio. after recent hidden video showed npr executives bashing the tea party. if the house passes the bill, the senate would likely block it. and it's all about green today, as people across the globe celebrate st. patrick's day. the biggest party of all takes place right here in new york city. millions of revelers are expected to turn out for the city's 250th annual st. patrick's day parade. march madness. the field now whittled down to 64 teams. and the madness officially gets under way today. half the field is in action today. the other half, tomorrow. the whole thing wraps up with a new national champion on april

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u.s. officials evacuate some citizens out of japan. there are now projections on when the radiation will reach the west coast. >> i'll update you on the nuclear crisis has overshadowed rescue and recovery for the victims of the earthquake and the tsunami. >> nearly 4,300 people are

officially listed as dead. but officials believe the toll will climb over 10,000, since several thousand more are listed as missing. diane sawyer has more on the sad search for survivors. >> reporter: rescue teams, calling out. probing the new snow tonight as the temperatures drop.erqcqcqcqc